This spring, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) awarded its top award, a Gold Crown prize, to Lighted Corners, the Mount’s student-run literary magazine. Lighted Corners was one of four collegiate journals to win a Gold Crown in the “print literary magazine” category.
The win is Lighted Corners’ first Gold Crown, following up on a Silver Crown award in 2021 and 2014 and CSPA Gold or Silver Medalist recognition in nearly every year since 2008. The awards reflect the dedication and passion of the magazine’s staff in sharing their creative talents with the campus community.
“I’m thrilled Lighted Corners earned a Gold Crown for the first time since we launched in 1981. Our goal is to make the best magazine we can with what we have. Off-campus recognition is wonderful. But we’ve already achieved our goal: to present the best writing, art, and photography from our community,” noted Tom Bligh, Ph.D., associate professor of English, director of the creative writing program, and faculty advisor for the magazine.
This year’s winning edition was published in the spring of 2022, and titled Ghost. At the time, the magazine was run by Editor-in-Chief Emmy Jansen, C’22, and Assistant Editor Claire Doll, C’24.
“The magazine draws so many talented, creative students in terms of both art and writing and it’s amazing to see what they can accomplish when oriented to the same goal. While I’m proud of the team of writers, editors, and artists who carried the 41st edition, we truly owe it to the 40 that came before us and molded this publication into a treasure for the Mount and now, the greater community,” shared Jansen.
Lighted Corners, while primarily a creative writing collection, features students’ original artwork and photography as well. “I was honored to have photography even accepted to Lighted Corners and was even further honored when I found out it had earned a Gold Crown. It’s given me a reason to continue improving my photography work, which is something I am incredibly grateful for,” exclaimed Robert Prender, C’24, whose photography was included in volume 41.
Lighted Corners is now headed by Doll, who has become editor-in-chief after her time as assistant editor under Jansen. “I love how 
creative and close the students on staff are,” shared Doll. “The award is well-deserved, and I learned a lot from [Jansen] during my time as assistant editor. The experience [of being editor-in-chief] has been so rewarding. I’ve found that I love leading a team of passionate writers and artists, and I love giving people the feeling of pride and excitement when they are published.”
Volume 42, the first one to be produced under Doll’s leadership, will premiere at the SPARC Festival later this month. To learn more about Lighted Corners, and to read volumes 40 and 41, visit https://msmary.edu/academics/schools-divisions/college-of-liberal-arts/lighted-corners.html.